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CHANGING OF THE GUARDS: Incoming Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will be sworn in Friday afternoon during a private ceremony at the Supreme Court. Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will administer the oath of office. Jewell worked with O’Connor on the National Parks Second Century Commission, which an Interior Department official described as “an independent commission charged with developing a twenty-first century vision for the National Park Service.”

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS: Jewell technically takes over as Interior secretary immediately after this afternoon’s ceremony, but Monday will mark her first full day on the job. Jewell will meet Monday with career employees at the department and she’ll hold a series of “in-depth meetings” on energy development, conservation, Indian Affairs, and youth engagement, according to the Interior official.

GOODBYE SALAZAR: Today is outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s last day on the job. He thanked Interior employees for their service Thursday in a 40-second YouTube video. A westerner til the end, Salazar wore his trademark bolo tie in the video.

“I wanted today just to say thank you for a wonderful and very joyful ride,” he said, adding, “I’m proud of you. I’m humbled and privileged to have had the honor to work with all of you for four years and 3 months. I will always remember the journey and both the journey and the dream will continue on in the future. We’ll see you along the trail somewhere. Thank you all.”

SALAZAR’S LAST ACT: Salazar told a House Appropriations subcommittee Thursday that testifying before the panel on Obama’s budget request was his last public act as secretary, ”I hope to continue to see you never as a lobbyist, but always as a friend,” he said.

HAPPY FRIDAY and welcome to Morning Energy. TGIF, am I right? It’s been a busy week in the energy world and I for one can’t wait for the weekend. I’m crossing my fingers that the rain will let up in time to enjoy some fun in the sun. I’m your host Andrew Restuccia, filling in for Alex Guillen, who is taking a few days off, presumably to enjoy a Gilmore Girls marathon.

EXXON MEETS WITH OMB: ExxonMobil officials met with the White House Office of Management and Budget on March 28 to discuss the Interior Department’s pending fracking regulations, according to meeting records: http://1.usa.gov/12No4dp. The meeting was first spotted by Ben Geman at The Hill.

FRACKING RULE ‘IMMINENT’: “We believe that hydraulic fracking can be done safely. But we believe the rules that we have been working on will allow us to make sure that we’re fully developing the oil and natural gas potential of our public lands,” Salazar told a House Appropriations subcommittee Thursday. “The rule is imminent and I expect that my successor will be announcing it in the very near future.”

HUBBARD JOINS SIERRA CLUB: The Sierra Club is announcing today that Dean Hubbard, the former senior counsel to the Transport Workers Union of America AFL-CIO, will become the green group’s labor director. “A tireless advocate for workers’ rights and climate justice, Dean’s passion and breadth of experience are sure to strengthen our movement to build a clean energy economy that creates good jobs and works for all Americans,” Sierra Club Director of Strategic Partnerships Cathy Duvall said in a statement.

WYDEN SPEAKS: Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden will speak bright and early this morning at a forum hosted by Georgetown University and the law firm Arent Fox. A Wyden aide tells ME that the chairman will “discuss his plans for transitioning to a lower-carbon economy, and include some thoughts about pros and cons of the administration’s ENR budget.”

ACTIVISTS CONTINUE TO TARGET LYNCH: A group of activists backed by California billionaire Tom Steyer will continue a campaign targeting Massachusetts senate candidate Stephen Lynch this weekend. The activists will use an airplane to fly a banner that says, “Stephen Lynch: Running for Big Oil,” along the route of the Boston Marathon starting Saturday and going through Monday, when the race takes place. Lynch is getting fed up with Steyer. He called him Dr. Evil in a recent interview: http://bit.ly/YbRGP3

** A message from America's Natural Gas Alliance: Two years after its launch, the state-led hydraulic fracturing disclosure database, FracFocus.org, features more than 41,000 wells on public and private lands with participation from more than 500 companies. And those numbers continue to grow. http://bit.ly/14f7uUQ **

E&C TAKES AIM AT EPA: The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on energy and power is holding a hearing this morning on draft legislation unveiled by Rep. Ed Whitfield last week that would prevent the EPA from promulgating any regulation with a cost upwards of $1 billion if the Energy secretary finds that it has significant adverse effect on the economy. Witnesses include representatives of the Industrial Energy Consumers of America and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, as well as Center for Progressive Reform President Rena Steinzor.

SMELT IT, DEALT IT: EPA will be in court Friday defending its air toxics regulation for secondary lead smelters in Association of Battery Recyclers, et al. v. EPA. The battery recyclers say the rule agency wrongfully regulated elemental lead under its air toxics rules. Greens and one major corporation say the agency should have set stricter requirements for pollution controls. 9:30 a.m. at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse.

SCIENTISTS WANTED: EPA is seeking nominations for its Science Advisory Board and its Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. The agency is looking for “scientific experts from a diverse range of disciplines,” according to a notice set to be published in the Federal Register today. The appointments will be filled by October 2013, the agency said. The notice: http://bit.ly/16Qh5if

HOUSE DEMS HUDDLE WITH ZICHAL: Some green-minded congressional Democrats pressed White House energy adviser Heather Zichal on the Keystone XL pipeline during a meeting on Capitol Hill Thursday — but it’s not clear how the discussion ended. “We’ll keep that in the room,” Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) said when reporters asked about the pipeline discussion. Darius Dixon has more: http://politico.pro/10PaVel

KERRY CAN’T ESCAPE KEYSTONE: Anti-Keystone protesters followed Secretary of State John Kerry to the G8 foreign ministers’ meeting in London Thursday. Activists have followed Kerry and President Barack Obama to nearly every public appearance in recent weeks as the Keystone decision looms. Read more: http://bit.ly/17tkNzI

OFF THE RECORD, NO COMMENT: The Society of Environmental Journalists says EPA is “one of the most closed, opaque agencies to the press. Greenwire details the transparency problems at the agency and ends with this familiar line: “[A]n an EPA spokeswoman declined to return a request for comment.” The story: http://bit.ly/120ijX7

QUICK HITS

- A Bloomberg poll finds that traders and analysts don’t expect the United States to allow companies to export crude oil anytime soon: http://bloom.bg/YpXk06

- Grist talks to an anti-Keystone protester who interrupted a golf tournament sponsored by oil company Valero: http://bit.ly/151qMMt

** A message from America's Natural Gas Alliance: We believe in a clean energy future. Natural gas is a cleaner energy choice and a key partner to solar and wind technologies. From California to Florida, natural gas facilities are working with renewable energy to ensure steady, affordable and cleaner energy choices for communities across our nation. Because it is an abundant and affordable energy source available right here in America, natural gas can help make the promise of cleaner energy a reality in more American communities. Natural gas is smarter power today. Visit anga.us to learn more. **